Dataset Information

First Paleogenetic Evidence of Probable Syphilis and Treponematoses Cases in the Brazilian Colonial Period.

ABSTRACT: Despite interest in the origins of syphilis, paleopathological analysis has not provided answers, and paleogenetic diagnosis remains a challenge. Even venereal syphilis has low infectivity which means there are few circulating bacteria for most of the individual's life. Human remains recovered from the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Church (17th to 19th centuries) and the Praça XV Cemetery (18th to 19th centuries), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were subjected to Treponema paleogenetic analysis. Historical data point to endemic treponemal infections in the city, including venereal syphilis. Based on the physiopathology of Treponema pallidum infection, 25 samples, mostly from skull remains of young adults, with no visible paleopathological evidence of treponematoses, were analyzed. PCR with three molecular targets, tpp47, polA, and tpp15, were applied. Ancient DNA tpp15 sequences were recovered from two young adults from each archaeological site and revealed the polymorphism that characterizes T. p. subsp. pallidum in a female up to 18 years old, suggesting a probable case of syphilis infection. The results indicated that the epidemiological context and the physiopathology of the disease should be considered in syphilis paleogenetic detection. The findings of Treponema sp. aDNA are consistent with historical documents that describe venereal syphilis and yaws as endemic diseases in Rio de Janeiro. Data on the epidemiological characteristics of the disease and its pathophysiology offer new perspectives in paleopathology.

SUBMITTER: Guedes L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6199871 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

First Paleogenetic Evidence of Probable Syphilis and Treponematoses Cases in the Brazilian Colonial Period.

Guedes Lucélia L Dias Ondemar O Neto Jandira J Ribeiro da Silva Laura da Piedade LDP Mendonça de Souza Sheila M F SMF Iñiguez Alena Mayo AM

BioMed research international 20181010

Despite interest in the origins of syphilis, paleopathological analysis has not provided answers, and paleogenetic diagnosis remains a challenge. Even venereal syphilis has low infectivity which means there are few circulating bacteria for most of the individual's life. Human remains recovered from the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Church (17th to 19th centuries) and the Praça XV Cemetery (18th to 19th centuries), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were subjected to <i>Treponema</i> paleogenetic analysis. Histori ...[more]

PMID: 30406142

Similar Datasets

Project description:An intense debate concerning the nature and mode of Neolithic transition in Europe has long received much attention. Recent publications of paleogenetic analyses focusing on ancient European farmers from Central Europe or the Iberian Peninsula have greatly contributed to this debate, providing arguments in favor of major migrations accompanying European Neolithization and highlighting noticeable genetic differentiation between farmers associated with two archaeologically defined migration routes: the Danube valley and the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of the present study was to fill a gap with the first paleogenetic data of Neolithic settlers from a region (France) where the two great currents came into both direct and indirect contact with each other. To this end, we analyzed the Gurgy 'Les Noisats' group, an Early/Middle Neolithic necropolis in the southern part of the Paris Basin. Interestingly, the archaeological record from this region highlighted a clear cultural influence from the Danubian cultural sphere but also notes exchanges with the Mediterranean cultural area. To unravel the processes implied in these cultural exchanges, we analyzed 102 individuals and obtained the largest Neolithic mitochondrial gene pool so far (39 HVS-I mitochondrial sequences and haplogroups for 55 individuals) from a single archaeological site from the Early/Middle Neolithic period. Pairwise FST values, haplogroup frequencies and shared informative haplotypes were calculated and compared with ancient and modern European and Near Eastern populations. These descriptive analyses provided patterns resulting from different evolutionary scenarios; however, the archaeological data available for the region suggest that the Gurgy group was formed through equivalent genetic contributions of farmer descendants from the Danubian and Mediterranean Neolithization waves. However, these results, that would constitute the most ancient genetic evidence of admixture between farmers from both Central and Mediterranean migration routes in the European Neolithization debate, are subject to confirmation through appropriate model-based approaches.

Project description:Only a few genetic studies have been carried out to date in Bolivia. However, some of the most important (pre)historical enclaves of South America were located in these territories. Thus, the (sub)-Andean region of Bolivia was part of the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. We have genotyped the first hypervariable region (HVS-I) of 720 samples representing the main regions in Bolivia, and these data have been analyzed in the context of other pan-American samples (>19,000 HVS-I mtDNAs). Entire mtDNA genome sequencing was also undertaken on selected Native American lineages. Additionally, a panel of 46 Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) was genotyped in a sub-set of samples. The vast majority of the Bolivian mtDNAs (98.4%) were found to belong to the main Native American haplogroups (A: 14.3%, B: 52.6%, C: 21.9%, D: 9.6%), with little indication of sub-Saharan and/or European lineages; however, marked patterns of haplogroup frequencies between main regions exist (e.g. haplogroup B: Andean [71%], Sub-Andean [61%], Llanos [32%]). Analysis of entire genomes unraveled the phylogenetic characteristics of three Native haplogroups: the pan-American haplogroup B2b (originated ?21.4 thousand years ago [kya]), A2ah (?5.2 kya), and B2o (?2.6 kya). The data suggest that B2b could have arisen in North California (an origin even in the north most region of the American continent cannot be disregarded), moved southward following the Pacific coastline and crossed Meso-America. Then, it most likely spread into South America following two routes: the Pacific path towards Peru and Bolivia (arriving here at about ?15.2 kya), and the Amazonian route of Venezuela and Brazil southwards. In contrast to the mtDNA, Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) reveal a higher (although geographically variable) European introgression in Bolivians (25%). Bolivia shows a decreasing autosomal molecular diversity pattern along the longitudinal axis, from the Altiplano to the lowlands. Both autosomes and mtDNA revealed a low impact (1-2%) of a sub-Saharan component in Bolivians.

Project description:Syphilis and congenital syphilis (CS) are increasing in California (CA). From 2015 through 2019, for example, CA cases of early syphilis among reproductive-age females (15-44) and CS each increased by >200%. Certain populations-including people experiencing homelessness, using drugs, and/or belonging to certain racial/ethnic groups-have been disproportionately impacted. We hypothesized that geospatial social determinants of health (SDH) contribute to such health inequities. To demonstrate this, we geospatially described syphilis in CA using the Healthy Places Index (HPI). The HPI is a composite index that assigns a score to each CA census tract based on eight socioeconomic characteristics associated with health (education, housing, transportation, neighborhood conditions, clean environment, and healthcare access as well as economic and social resources). We divided CA census tracts into four quartiles based on HPI scores (with the lowest quartile having the least healthy socioeconomic and environmental conditions), then used 2013-2020 CA sexually transmitted diseases surveillance data to compare overall syphilis (among adults and adolescents) and CS case counts, incidence rates (per 100,000 population or live births), and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) among these quartiles. From 2013 to 2020, across all stages of syphilis and CS, disease burden was greatest in the lowest HPI quartile and smallest in the highest quartile (8308 cases (representing 33.2% of all incidents) versus 3768 (15.1%) for primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis; 5724 (31.6%) versus 2936 (16.2%) for early non-primary non-secondary (NPNS) syphilis; 11,736 (41.9%) versus 3026 (10.8%) for late/unknown duration syphilis; and 849 (61.9%) versus 57 (4.2%) for CS; all with p < 0.001). Using the highest HPI quartile as a reference, the IRRs in the lowest quartile were 17 for CS, 4.5 for late/unknown duration syphilis, 2.6 for P&S syphilis, and 2.3 for early NPNS syphilis. We thus observed a direct relationship between less healthy conditions (per HPI) and syphilis/CS in California, supporting our hypothesis that SDH correlate with disparities in syphilis, especially CS. HPI could inform allocation of resources to: (1) support communities most in need of assistance in preventing syphilis/CS cases and (2) reduce health disparities.

Project description:BackgroundSyphilis and gonorrhea reached an all-time high in 2018. The resurgence of syphilis and gonorrhea requires innovative methods of sexual contact tracing that encourage disclosure of same-sex sexual contacts that might otherwise be suppressed. Over 75% of Grindr mobile phone application users report seeking "friendship," so this study asked people diagnosed with syphilis and gonorrhea to identify their friends.MethodsPatients at the two Baltimore sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics and the Baltimore City Health Department were asked 12 questions to elicit members of their friendship networks before eliciting sexual networks. The study included 353 index cases and 172 friendship contacts, yielding a friendship network of 331 non-isolates (n = 331) and sexual-only network of 140 non-isolates. The data were plotted and analyzed using exponential family random graph analysis.ResultsEliciting respondents' in-person social contacts yielded 12 syphilis cases and 6 gonorrhea cases in addition to the 16 syphilis cases and 4 gonorrhea cases that would have been found with sexual contacts alone. Syphilis is clustered within sexual (odds ratio = 2.2, 95% confidence interval (1.36, 3.66)) and social contacts (OR = 1.31, 95% CI (1.02, 1.68)). Gonorrhea is clustered within reported social (OR = 1.56, 95% CI (1.22, 2.00)) but not sexual contacts (OR = 0.98, 95% CI (0.62, 1.53)).ConclusionsEliciting friendship networks of people diagnosed with syphilis and gonorrhea may find members of their sexual networks, drug use networks, or people of similar STI risk. Friendship networks include more diagnosed cases of syphilis and gonorrhea than sexual networks alone, especially among populations with many non-disclosing men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with women (WSW). Future research should evaluate whether this friendship network method of contact tracing can be implemented by adapting automated mobile phone COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, if these COVID-19 contact tracing methods are able to maintain anonymity and public trust.

Dataset Information

First Paleogenetic Evidence of Probable Syphilis and Treponematoses Cases in the Brazilian Colonial Period.

Publications

First Paleogenetic Evidence of Probable Syphilis and Treponematoses Cases in the Brazilian Colonial Period.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets